Making Data-Driven Decisions in Branch Networks

By combining geographic data with bank’s customer data, Pitney Bowes is trying to help banks make smart decisions in their branches.

With many banks re-evaluating the value of their branch networks because of decreased foot traffic and transactional activity, data and analytics could help in optimizing branch networks for customer needs. But banks struggle to pull together different data sources needed to match geographic data with customer intelligence because of data silos that block the ability to make data-driven decisions about branch networks, says James Buckley, senior vice president and general manager, customer data and location intelligence, Pitney Bowes.

To help banks pull together their customer data with geographic data, Pitney Bowes is launching a new product, called Spectrum Spatial, that will allow banks to integrate geographic data from Pitney’s MapInfo technology with their own customer data. With that data integration, banks will be able to see how they can both increase revenue through targeted marketing at their branches, and decrease costs by making data-driven decisions when cutting branches, Buckley shares.

“Your real estate people can use the solution for optimization of your branch network, and marketing people will be able to develop offers relevant for people who live in specific geographies,” Buckley explains. “You can take all the data on your customers and then put it together with the context of the geography where you’re operating.”

The Spatial Spectrum solution will allow banks to see when they’re doubling up on branches in a neighborhood, what kind of competition they face there and, tailor marketing in that neighborhood according to demographics and customer segmentation, Buckley adds. For instance, when a customer uses the branch locator on a bank’s mobile app, the bank could push offers to them relevant to the geography they’re looking at.

The solution also offers routing and analytics capabilities so that banks can determine how to optimize their branch network for where customers are going and spending their time. “If you can do the analytics around where people are working, you could direct customers to a branch located along their commute, and close another branch elsewhere. We can help banks master those challenges,” Buckley says.

Jonathan Camhi has been an associate editor with Bank Systems & Technology since 2012. He previously worked as a freelance journalist in New York City covering politics, health and immigration, and has a master's degree from the City University of New York's Graduate School ... View Full Bio

This makes sense in terms of an additional tool to assess branch performance and to identify over/under-served communities, but I think it would be foolish to think that location and traffic analysis alone is enough to improve branch performance. There is still a bigger issue about the role of the branch, shift to digital channels, etc. This offering could be useful but channel strategy can't be simply about optimizing locations.